Signs & Symptoms of Salt Overdose

Salt is a common mineral that has been useful to man. Long ago, early humans used salt to enhance their life quality. Salt now is used in chemical companies as a raw material for various industrial products. Also, salt is widely used to give food flavor. However, excessive salt intake may endanger your health and should be avoided. Knowing the signs and symptoms of salt overdose will build your awareness and help you determine how to handle the situation.

Basic Symptoms

Too much salt intake is characterized by several symptoms. Basic signs may be mistaken as common respiratory ailments such as flu. You may experience abdominal pain, coughing, diarrhea, shortness of breath and vomiting. This may also be accompanied by high fever. Other symptoms that are not common are shock seizures and metallic taste.

Basic signs may be mistaken as common respiratory ailments such as flu. (Image: Comstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images)

Increased Blood Volume and Pressure

Salt overdose is characterized by severe headaches, which could be mistaken as migraine because of high fluid retention. You may experience an increase in blood pressure, which should be addressed by a doctor immediately. If the kidney fails to get rid of the excessive salt coming from the food you eat, there will be internal sodium build up, which can lead to chronic heart and kidney problems.

You may experience an increase in blood pressure, which should be addressed by a doctor immediately. (Image: Jupiterimages/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images)

Drying Throat and Pain

Early symptoms of salt overdose can also be painful in the throat because of dryness. You will feel thirsty most of the time due to increased iodine, which is a main component of salt. Oftentimes, these symptoms are mistaken to be just a simple sore throat, but you need to take it seriously because it may lead to serious ailments. Excessive presence of iodine in the system can lead to thyroid enlargement and may even develop into hyperthyroidism or thyroid papillary cancer.

Body Fluid Build Up

Sodium helps regulate body fluids. In addition, it also maintains a balanced acid-base level. Excessive salt intake disrupts the normal fluid concentration in the body, affecting the circulatory system. It also increases water in the veins, capillaries and arteries of the heart, including other internal organs such as kidney and pituitary glands. Some of the early symptoms of increased body fluid are chest pain and breathing difficulty because of improper nerve and cell conduction. If not immediately treated, this can lead to heart failure.

Some of the early symptoms of increased body fluid are chest pain and breathing difficulty. (Image: Medioimages/Photodisc/Photodisc/Getty Images)